This blog post is all about how much you will be spending to get yourself settled in the Netherlands.
It is always confusing when it comes to how much funds you will require in your early months of moving to a new country. You are unaware of the new terrain, new currency, you don't know what is expensive and what should be considered an affordable item. We went through a lot of planning ourselves when we landed here in the Netherlands. Of course, we made some good decisions but then we also made some horrible decisions. Shared below is a list of mandatory and optional expenditures that will follow when you arrive here.
Please note that all the expenses shared here are specific to the Netherlands. We are not saying that within the given price range you will be able to make a home for yourself. With this blog post, you can get a fair idea about the initial expenses.
Mandatory Expenses:
1. Insurance: It is compulsory to have student insurance in the Netherlands. Some universities like mine make this mandatory before arriving here. While some universities like Saurabh's allow you the freedom to purchase insurance after you land here in the Netherlands. The cost of insurance for a non-Eu student is somewhere between 400-550Euros per year. You can pay for this all at once or you can also opt for a monthly payment or quarterly payments. These payment options depend on your insurance company. (AON insurance link)
2. Travel Card: When you are here, without a doubt you will need to go outside, to your college, for grocery shopping, or any exploring that you want to do. Even though the people here have a strong bond with cycling which will push you to get a cycle for yourself, you should always have a travel card. This is because you will not have a cycle the moment you land here. Also, in the Netherlands, it is common to travel from one city to another using trains or buses. Also, you have an option to rent a bicycle using your travel card. Thus, it is a must-have for everyone who lives here. You can apply for a travel card using the link below in the description box. The initial cost for this is 7.5euros. You can then top up your card with any amount say 50 or 100Euros which will then be deducted as and when you travel or make any purchase. You can also load your cards with discounts or opt for a postpaid option.
3. House set-up: There are two major costs involved in this category:
Deposit: You have to pay a deposit amount when you rent a place. This amount will be returned to you after your housing contract expires. The deposit amount is usually the rent of a single month or the rent of two months. It is not more than that. And yes, it is a huge expense. So please make sure that the house you are renting is an authentic deal. There are a lot of frauds and schemers who are waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of newbies in town. We will share our own experience and some tips to save yourself from these unfortunate incidents in later videos.
The initial purchases: When you are new in a country, you are here with a bag of clothes and a lot of dreams. But you need things like utensils, bedsheets, pillows and so many other items to create a home for yourself. If you rent a place using a housing company, they usually have an option to purchase a carton of items which includes cutlery, coffee mugs, and other small items. However, most of the time, you have to splurge money to get yourself settled. This set-up cost can be anywhere between 150euros to as much your inner hoarder demon wants you to spend.
Optional Expenses:
The upcoming list of expenses consists of those which are optional. Optional in both senses meaning there are some expenses which you can choose to not make and then there are some expenses which will happen depending on certain situations.
1. Owning a bicycle: The Netherlands is an advocate of physical fitness and reducing the carbon footprint. It is not an unusual sight to see huge bicycle parking wherever you go, people carrying their portable bicycles in trains and people cycling almost everywhere. The Dutch love their cycling activities and it is evident in daily life. You will, of course, be inclined to purchase a bicycle and roam around the city breathing in the fresh air and saving some transport money in the process. If you decide to do so, there are many options that you can consider.
You can purchase a new bike! Trust me when I say this, every other street here has a bicycle shop. You can buy a new and the price will be in the range of 200-2000euros.
You can go for a used bike. If you go to the Facebook marketplace and look for bicycles for sale near you, you will find plenty of options and can even find a good bicycle for 50 euros. There are also other websites that you can browse to purchase a used bicycle. Moreover, there are also stores everywhere who deal in used bikes. Thus, you have plenty of options to choose from. (Link swapfeets, bicycleboys)
Say you want the bicycle experience first without any investments. You are not sure if you want to own a bicycle but want to see how you can keep up with the daily cycling commute, you can reach out to various bike renting websites(link in the description below). These companies allow you to rent a bicycle for some time say an hour, a day, a week, a month, or six months for a price. The cost usually ranges from 15-30 euros a month(with an additional deposit). This option gives you the liberty to experience the activity without spending too much.
2. Winter wear: If you are from a warmer country and if you are thinking to buy some winter wear from your native country before coming here then STOP, immediately! You can save yourself some baggage space by buying your jackets and other heavy stuff from the Netherlands. This is advised because the clothing market in every country is different. The fabric quality differs according to the weather conditions and it is a good chance that the jackets from your country will not help prevent the cold weather in the Netherlands. The new jacket will cost you from 70-150euros. Of course, you can spend more but within this price range, you will get a decent piece of warm clothing. You can also choose to spend on items like windbreakers, raincoats, scarves, and leg warmers. If you are from colder areas then we feel that you already have your own proven bunch of attires which keeps you warm.
3. Government Charges: This category is unpredictable. The expenses in this section depend on your native country and your future housing situation.
Taxes: There are some areas in the town where you have to pay taxes like water tax, garbage tax, and other maintenance charges. Now sometimes these charges can be remitted(detailed video soon) and sometimes these charges are actually for the landlord. You should have at least 100 euros of extra cash in case you get a letter from the authorities asking you to pay for the municipality facilities.
Health Check-ups: The Netherlands follows various health codes, for example, if you are from India like us then you have to appear for a TB test. We have a friend from Egypt who has no such requirement. Also, if you are supposed to take a test, the charges depend according to your living situation. For example, I had to pay approximately 40 euros for my TB test and Saurabh did not have to pay a dime to get himself tested. So there are these rules that you have to abide by and sometimes pay for it if you are a resident here.
And that was the post guys. We tried to cover-up as many points as possible and in as many details as possible. Let us know if we missed something, any questions that you might have or future blog requests. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.